


Humanity's Unlikely Ambassador?

by Rozilla



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Darcy Lewis, Awesome Jane Foster, F/M, Gen, Jane Foster Loves Science, Magazine Article, Protective Darcy Lewis, Vanity Fair - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 02:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6451240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozilla/pseuds/Rozilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An article for Vanity Fair written by Christine Everhart profiling Jane Foster, with Darcy making sure no one a) slips up and over shares or b) makes her boss look bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Humanity's Unlikely Ambassador?

**Author's Note:**

> God damn, I read too many boring Vanity Fair articles on top of a bunch of classy interviews with Natalie Portman and my brain made me do it. So there.  
> I love writing these, I wish I could get paid to do this.

Humanity’s Unlikely Ambassador? 

BY Christine Everhard

**Dr Jane Foster, at the tender age of 34, is one of the world’s leading authorities in inter-dimensional travel, a Nobel Laureate, public speaker and renowned science writer, with blogs, columns and a book all detailing her travels and discoveries beyond this little blue speak.**

 

The first thing you notice about Jane Foster is that she is, above all things, a study in contrasts. Anyone who’s seen her talks, her speeches or her appearances will know she is a master at the art of public speaking. In her characteristic space themed dresses or shirts, she's passionate, she’s articulate, she’s full of wild hand gestures and, above all, a determination to be both honest with the audience and with herself. I could listen to her talk for hours about things I barely understand, about physics so dense that even trying to think about them makes my eyes cross. She makes it so easy to relate to, stripping it down to basics, yet never losing its scale or complexity in the telling.

What I’m saying is- this lady knows how to work a crowd.

But what surprises you is that, when you meet her in person, she is not only movie star gorgeous, petite (barely scraping five foot two- such a small frame for such a big personality), but she can barely look me in the eye whilst we were talking about anything else other than her work. She fidgets, she stumbles over her words, laughs uneasily and generally gives me the impression of someone who wishes they could leave, like, right now. She’s in casuals; plaid shirt, jeans and a t-shirt that reads ‘Astro-physicists do it at night’, which she is embarrassed about and begs me to let her change before the photographer gets hold of her. Apparently she forgot she was wearing it!

Whilst she switches it out for something a little classier (a thrift store planets tunic-shirt that I am immediately jealous of), Dr Foster’s assistant, one Darcy Lewis (her former intern), is the one who does small talk, negotiates coffee (she makes a mean latte as it turns out) and hovers around the conversation like a protective mother hen. I can’t help but notice that Ms Lewis has a digital recorder of her own on hand, which I assume is to make sure I don’t mis-quote Dr Foster or take her comments out of context. I get the impression that one wrong move and she’ll come down on me like a ton of bricks. Dr Foster has obviously inspired a lot of loyalty from her!

‘I couldn’t do what I do without Darcy,’ Jane sighs. Ms Lewis agrees ‘Damn straight!’

However, it didn’t take long for the _real_ Jane Foster, PhD, to shine through once I began focusing on her work. She sometimes talks at a million miles an hour, especially when she knows her subject inside out and is determined I learn about it, while still being careful with her answers. More than a few times, her awkwardness comes out, only to be put back again. I pitied the poor sap who’s transcribing this, but I sat absolutely rigid. It really is fascinating to listen to her speak.

I began by asking her how she started out. She is, without a doubt, both proud of her family background, but humble enough to see her relative privilege.

 

‘I come from a background where I was allowed to flourish,’ she’s fiddling with a short silver chain necklace and considers her answers ‘not many people, especially girls, get the chances I got. I had the support of both parents and their connections in academia. That’s not to say I didn’t struggle, but probably less than others.’

So do you see yourself as a role model? Or an inspiration to young girls?

She laughs ‘I only see myself as myself, I’d sound a bit arrogant otherwise- but if people _are_ inspired by my achievements then that’s great. It’s sad they still _need_ role models, that we’re at a point where it’s still a phenomenon. I try and give back to programmes I think will help women and girls in STEM, but what they really need aside from the money is the emotional and social support. If you feel like you’re part of a group or a network, you’re not going to feel so alone. That’s why Culver is such a great place.’

Ms Lewis agrees ‘Culver U!’

Jane rolls her eyes but laughs all the same ‘Yeah, I mean… I feel like my struggles there were more because of the obscurity of the study I chose, rather than my gender. Before that… I definitely got a strong sense of the Imposter Syndrome at the other colleges I went to.’

Other colleges? How many did you go to?

‘Other than Culver? Two; M.I.T and Metro College.’

So how long have you been a student?

‘Just over fifteen years.’

Wow.

‘Yeah… I finished my PhD shortly after Greenwich. The Convergence basically helped me write the rest of my thesis and provided me with more data than I could’ve possibly hoped for.’

You’re now an astronomer?

‘Yeah, but astrophysics and astronomy are obviously linked and, now more than ever, pretty interchangeable so, it’s not much of a change up for me. I’ve actually been able to slow down a lot from my PhD days.’

Ms Lewis makes a choking sound that sounds a lot like ‘bullshit’.

‘Well,’ Dr Foster concedes ‘it’s still busy and intensive, but that’s mostly because of the travel and the schedule, which Darcy keeps beautifully by the way.’

‘Don’t try to kiss my ass now boss,’ Ms Lewis warns ‘besides, you travelled a ton back then to.’

‘True.’

What was your PhD like?

‘Oh man… I was looking for evidence of naturally Einstein Rosen Bridges-’

That’s a wormhole in case you were wondering.

‘-so I was looking for a trail of, for example, neutrinos, particularly sterile neutrinos, dark matter- anything that suggests a disturbance in space-time. The places that these occurred naturally tended to be pretty… extreme. The most being a frozen lake in Siberia and a research facility in the Arctic.’

Wow.

‘Yeah… I suffer from Raynaud's to, so I nearly lost at least two toes to frostbite on both occasions.’

Yikes!

‘Yup, pretty awful,’ she agrees ‘but honestly, so worth it in the end.’

So how did you go about looking for them in the first place?

‘In some cases, a lot of these spots are already known to physicists and there was plenty of research already done, but I had developed new devices and programmes to analyse the data, so I hoped to use them to basically turn up fresh evidence.’

And in others?

‘I looked at old legends, mentions of portals, windows, travellers, where the stories of the whole ‘ancient astronaut’ thing came from basically.’

So… you were looking for evidence of alien interference?’

‘Oh no, I didn’t think so, just evidence that there was some natural phenomena- which can fuel alien conspiracy theories… which turned out to have a ring of truth to them.’

More than a ring!

She laughs ‘Yeah, yeah, a lot more as it turns out! I didn’t think I was discovering alien influences on my planet, I mean, I used to speculate in a kind of ‘oh that’d be amazing’ sort of way- but didn’t think I’d actually meet an alien!’

So this led you to New Mexico?

‘Yeah, there was a lot of activity there, which was weird given that it was so far out in the desert, but the old town was named ‘Old Bridge’ in Spanish, which I really should’ve spotted.’

‘I pointed it out when I moved in,’ Ms Lewis offers.

‘Well, I should’ve listened to you… but after… everything, I did a bit more digging and hey- it turns out there was this inexplicable _Vikings_ connections for as far back as people could remember- even though it was no where near where Vinland.’

So it turns out that it had been used as a wormhole site by Asgard for a long time?

‘Yeah, over a thousand years, presumably for its seclusion- until a town settled there.’

When you said ‘After everything’, I assume you mean…

‘Hmm,’ and here's where Dr Foster hesitates ‘yeah, I mean after Thor landed there.’

 

Time for the elephant in the room it would seem.

I was determined to try and not bring _him_ up, I’d imagine it’s frustrating, especially for female scientists (or well known women in general) to always be associated with their boyfriends, husbands or partners. I feel compelled to apologise but Dr Foster shrugs ‘If I’m honest, I don’t mind talking about Thor. The opposite in fact.’

Really?

‘I only hesitate because, well, I don’t want to be judged on my relationship, but it’s now so integral to my work and is a result of my work that I can’t _not_ bring it up.’

A result?

‘Ho boy,’ she takes a minute to drink a coffee, looking to Ms Lewis briefly before starting ‘I only met him because I was in the right place at the right time- studying the bridges that manifested because his people can open them more or less at will. He’s… pretty much the manifestation of my work and what I uncovered.’

So, you don’t mind people associating you with him.

‘Yes and no- I don’t mind people thinking I’m only _famous_ because of him, because that’s true- had he not turned up when he did, I would still be scouring the Earth for traces of the Einstein Rosen Bridges. I’d still be a scientist, I’d just be an _unknown_ scientist. Without a theory named after me! Thor proved they existed by his very presence, so that provided the biggest sign that my research was correct! I mean... I wouldn’t have got the exposure or the accolades I got. I would still be in the research or possibly developing the hypothesis stage, I wouldn’t be giving a talk on Yggdrasil at King's College London that’s for sure!’

Do you mind the fame?

‘I don’t mind all the research opportunities I’ve been given or the grants that just fall in my lap after years of begging and ass-kissing, but I don’t appreciate  the uh… unpleasant speculation or being followed by paps. That doesn’t happen as much now, especially when I go all the way out to places like Mont-Megantic or Aoraki Mackenzie. It’s not worth following me up a mountain!’

So it’s still a bother?

‘Oh… yeah, I don’t enjoy the non-science related fame, like, pictures turning up of me online or anything, but I mostly just ignore it as best I can. Honestly… if that is the price I pay for this amazing opportunity and… the people I’ve known along the way, it’s more than worth it.’

People are curious about Thor.

‘Oh yeah. He’s an alien. A powerful alien from a civilisation so advanced it makes us look like the Ancient Greeks. I’d want to ask a ton of questions to.’

And that he’s widely regarded as the most ridiculously handsome being on this or any other planet is clearly a factor, but I don’t bring it up. I do ask what she _does_ mind about people asking about him.

She gives it a moment before continuing ‘That… I’m only interested in astrophysics because of him.’

People really think that?

‘Seems so! A lot of people seem to assume I became a scientist overnight because I bumped into Thor- which is _demonstrably_ not true. To be in Puente Antiguo in the first place took nearly a decade of research and study, which is all available to the public by the way, it’s not like I made it up. I resent the idea that my passion came from meeting this man, it’s more like I was _already_ passionate, it’s just that meeting an… Super Powered Alien Prince from across the gulf of space who travelled on _the very thing I’d been trying to prove for years_ just made me _even more right_ than I had been before.’

He seems like a pretty interesting character.

‘Oh he is, that’s obvious really.’

Do you mind people asking about more… personal aspects of your relationship?

Now she hums and stares into her coffee for what seems like an eternity. I’m about to ask if she doesn’t want to answer when she says ‘I get people’s curiosity about that, but… no, it does make me uncomfortable. It’s hard to separate the personal from the professional in my case, but some folks don’t even try. I don’t like answering personal questions, but whatever I say or don’t say, some people will be… awful. I’ve come to terms with that and just… do the best I can, or _we_ can in some ways. I can usually tell if people are being vicious or cruel or prying too much, but I have Darcy on hand in case I over share!’

Ms Lewis agrees.

 

I promise not to ask her anymore about Thor, but she just smiles and says she’d appreciate that, but is okay with what I’ve asked so far. I decide to change tack and ask about her writing- namely a blog, a column in _Scientific American_ and a book; _Traversing Yggdrasil_. How does she find writing?

‘Hard actually- I’m not naturally very literary, so I agonise so much about my prose.’

That doesn’t come across in your writing!

‘Aw! Thanks but… I am not a naturally entertaining writer. Some scientists are, but I struggle with it. I’m not a big fan of fiction to be honest.’

Really?

‘Outside of science fiction,’ she clarifies ‘I’m too much of a nerd to appreciate any other genre than hard science fiction!’

‘Ya think?’ Ms Lewis scoffs.

So what drives your writing?

‘Outside of conveying information? Being honest with people as much as I can. Trying to draw people into how it might affect our world at large. Getting people to understand what I understand and the sheer scale of it… but my biggest thing is showing how much we have changed as a species because of what’s happened the last few years and how we might be a lot closer to Asgard than we think.’

People are afraid of, shall we say, outside influences- how does this affect your work?

‘It’s a difficulty… it’s hard to convince everyone that ‘outside influences’ aren’t all bad when things like New York happened, as well as this Inhumans scare. The ‘Ancient Astronauts’ were many it seemed and it’s fueled… a whole lot of crazy, as well as provided us with a lot of… intrigue, hope, understanding… but yeah, we’ve a long way to go, but I’m generally an optimist. The fact there are clearly some positives from knowing another alien civilisation is ultimately going to benefit us.’

Some have called that ‘naive’.

‘It… it is, I know a lot of people think of me as being blindly happy clappy about aliens and, especially after my Lovecraft talk, they think I’m somehow unaware or willfully ignorant of the dangers facing our species but- yeah, I am _more_ than aware. I’ve seen the ugly side of the vastness of the universe, even before I went to Asgard, so I’m not saying there’s _nothing_ out there to fear. I was caught up in Greenwich, I saw the destruction and… yeah, we’ve got plenty to fear.’

Sounds like there’s a ‘however’.

‘Oh there is! There’s going to risk to discoveries and new expansion out into space, but we have no choice now- we’re a planet that has clearly been exposed to alien influences for, possibly millions of years, definitely millennia, so we can’t turn back or close the borders. Even if we did, it’s part of us, we’d literally be shooting ourselves in the foot, not to mention the implication that we’d fear actual living beings, people, because they are different and… I don’t know about you, but the various times we did that in our history, it never reflects well on us as a species.’

So… evolve or die?

‘Maybe not that extreme but… we have to change or… we might end up doing more harm than good to ourselves and others.’

So we’re connected to other worlds regardless?

‘We’re part of what Asgard calls Yggdrasil; a network of galaxies and systems that spans the entire universe- we have been since the formation of our universe, we’ve only been left alone because most sentient species didn’t think we were worth the time, but… we defeated the Chitauri, we’ve proved that we are worthwhile.’

What about the connection of alien artefacts to Ultron? Is that not a downside to alien influence?

‘Yeah… a programme made because of fear of the unknown. An irrational response that… yeah, didn’t work out too well for anyone. I don’t know all the facts regarding artefacts, but it seems likely and, well...’

She sighs and takes another sip of coffee ‘I am still an optimist, but… I’m also keen to keep my feet on the ground so to speak. I like to make the fantastic understandable and provide an explanation for it, that’s just my thing. I honestly think everything can be explained eventually and that’s my optimism. We need to make decisions and advancements out of thought, not fear.’

Developing weapons is not needed at all?

This gives her pause for thought ‘Well… what weapons could we develop if we cannot truly know what’s out there? Even using Yggdrasil, there’s still so much out there that’s unexplored and, perhaps to us as of now, unknowable. It might take us years to analyse a possible ‘threat’ let alone combat it.’

So… what’s our best option?

‘From my point of view, based on my experience and my discoveries…. Compassion and thought and… well, I was about to say humanity, but does that term even apply anymore? We’ll have to expand our vocabulary for a start! I mean, it’s kind of ironic coming from me, someone who understands people about as well as I understand how bus timetables work… but people are our greatest resource, as in, living thinking… beings. We have to… think about allies, about people, about who we can team up with I guess, that way we’ll be better prepared and, more importantly, _trusted_. If we show ourselves to be divided, reactionary… we might not be considered worth the time of day to potential allies… elsewhere.’

Are you speaking from experience here? As in, _who_ you’ve spoken to about this?

She takes another long pause ‘Yeah. Yeah I am.’

That’s pretty interesting.

She agrees ‘It’s interesting all right.’

 

Time to move onto something that, apart from being the basis for this article, is something we’ve yet to discuss. A lot of people would consider Dr Foster as a kind of ambassador, it does sound like she’s taken on that role with aplomb.

‘By accident mostly,’ she shrugs ‘I’m not what you might call the most socially aware person ever, but I’ve somehow ended up speaking for a society so much bigger than just me! It’s… hard work. I don’t like seeing myself as some kind of… example. That’s what always bugged me about ‘How to get more people in this field’- the ones who are there are seen as these stand alones and are then put under a microscope and expected to never ever fail… I don’t see myself as an exception. I’ve worked my ass off- I’m no exception, that suggests that this happened over night. It didn’t, it took so _so_ long. Fame, came way too easily, but my job and my knowledge came from me and from my work. I have ended up in this position which has included becoming… a kind of spokesperson… which is… frightening. That’s why I’m accused of over-thinking way too much- I have to! I have to so that I don’t mess up…. But the sad thing is, on my own I will mess up, I need other people with me as allies and as part of a network, which I have. I know so many people in my field across the globe because I share this passion with them- we need to be the examples of humanity, not just me! I’m one person, one tiny tiny person, and the rest of the universe is pretty freakin’ big.’

 

That leads me to my final question concerning something that has definitely come up as a topic of conversation. Indeed, every time someone discussed the presence of aliens, and their influence on our species, there then comes a kind of mass existential crisis. Foster addressed this in her Lovecraft talk, but I want to ask her about it before I go- especially after that last sentence.

Does she _never_ have an existential crisis? Does she never get overwhelmed by her work? Never feel small or afraid?

‘No,’ she says, almost immediately, before backtracking a little ‘well… not really. I’m pretty used to feeling both figuratively and literally small! But… This is just how _I_ feel, personally, but I’m not afraid of the vastness of space. Hank Pym, the guy who developed the Pym Particle and, as it turned out, turned out to be the original Ant Man, once said that being small comes with both fear and a huge opportunity to get a new perspective. You get to see big things from a point where you can study the details- that’s how I look at the universe. We are tiny parts of it, but that gives us a chance to see things in a whole new light. Literally, again, in my case. We’re vulnerable, sure, but we’re also in a unique place, which is… exciting.’

So you’re _never_ afraid?

‘Oh no, I’m afraid, but I think my fear works differently from other people- like, I get scared _after_ the fact. That’s not bravery so much as… me being weird.’

So what does scare you?

‘Losing myself, my sense of who I am,’ she answers, very quickly, suggesting a lot of self-examination ‘I mean… the Fosters rarely live to see old age either through… not making it out of Nazi Germany or, in the case of my father, cancer. We’re used to the idea of ticking clock, so… we try and make the best of it, but if I were to… lose my memory or my… experience… I wouldn’t be me. That scares me.’

This creates a long moment that seems to drag out, but right on cue, as if to break the tension, Ms Lewis pipes up ‘Wanna hear about the time she almost drove us into a sparkly tornado?’

‘It was an Einstein Rosen Bridge,’ Jane points out calmly, seemingly relieved as I am.

‘Yeah, which you nearly drove us into.’

She pauses ‘True…’

‘She has no self-preservation,’ Darcy shrugs. I ask if this is accurate and Jane can’t help but agree ‘Kind of. I look at my life as a small part of one big universe- that doesn’t make me scared so much, it makes me reckless, sure, but it also makes me determined to make the most of the opportunities that were handed to me _and_ the ones I earned.’

On that note, we draw the interview to a close and, as we say goodbye and politely part ways, I can’t help but feel both strangely light, yet a little apprehensive. Foster’s optimism is infectious, even if it is tinged with that existential stuff I can’t help but feel. It is good to see people like Foster showing a good kind of strangely humble egotism- we may be a small species, we may have a long way to go, but we have a lot of good people, a lot of good minds and a connection to the universe we could’ve only dreamed of.

 

Dr Foster is a huge part of this, ambassador or not, and what makes her so appealing, admirable and brilliant, both in private and in public, is that she is determined to make you, us, part of it as well.


End file.
